Bug

This scared the hell out of me when I saw it.Roaches that rub their legs together kill everything and everyone.Bradford dillman is a good actor and I think this movie is his best work.The ending of the movie is really strange and I think This is the best of killer bug films.A good companion to this movie is the nest [1988]Only in this film they kill by using teeth.

Released in 1975, "Bug" stars Bradford Dillman as a professor who becomes fascinated by a fire-starting breed of large cockroaches after they're released from their subterranean habitat via an earthquake. As he descends into madness he descends into hell.

The movie starts off good with an earthquake at a church in rural Southern California and the ensuing mystery of the fire-starting roaches, but the second half becomes draggy as it largely consists of the professor going recluse as he studies the roaches and performs an experiment. While I didn't find the roaches particularly scary, they're ugly and depicted in a creepy manner. The most memorable part of the movie occurs near the end when the bugs do something on the wall, which utterly freaks out the professor (and the viewer). The climax is pretty good too, but also unsatisfactory.

On the female front, Jamie Smith-Jackson (Alice from 1973's "Go Ask Alice") earns top awards, lookin' great in a pair of jeans, and Patty McCormack (Sylvia) gets second place. Unfortunately, not enough is done with 'em.

The "Brady Bunch" reference refers to the fact that the professor's house is the re-painted and re-arranged house-set of that popular early 70s' show. I was expecting Alice to appear in the kitchen at any moment! Needless to say, if you need a 70s' fix "Bug" fills the bill.

The film runs 99 minutes and was shot in Riverside, California, and Paramount Studios.

GRADE: C+

Loosely based on the novel "The Hephaestus Plague" about a strain of self igniting cockroach that is unleashed on a rural town following an earthquake. Local professor (Bradford Dillman) must learn more about the bugs in an attempt to stop the path of destruction, but finds himself aiding their evolution into unassailable marauders.

Interestingly handled thriller, produced by horror royalty in William Castle focuses on the mental disintegration of the lead character, following the death of his spouse. His obsessive determination to destroy the bugs leads him to the brink of insanity, while the bugs conversely enhance their intelligence through the reinforcement gained in his experiments. Where most of the cast (Gilliland, Vint, Jackson, Miles) fade out after the first half, Fudge and McCormack come into focus in the second half, as they attempt to coax Dillman out of his self imposed isolation.

The concept that mankind is the subject of the experiment and ultimately the more vulnerable of the two species, is canvassed abundantly in the second half of the film and while engaging, slows the pace considerably. Overall, I found "Bug" an entertaining tale that improved with each subsequent viewing and an ideal swansong for horror maestro Castle.

I'm pretty sure the music is what drove him crazy. It certainly made me want to scream.

This movie I can tell you, it freaked me out very much when I first saw it. I now own it on vhs and to this day I still get freaked out everytime I watch it. This movie along with others that were done about 30 yrs. ago approximately especially the ones with insects were done very well and some are a lot better than the ones of today.